Marsatta Chocolates scores goal, with assist from Kings
Jeffray Gardner, back in business. Photo by Emma Gardner Hockey cost Jeffray Gardner his place of business. Then hockey found him a new, better place. Gardner’s Marsatta Chocolate factory was suddenly evicted by a landlord who didn’t like the pick-up hockey games Gardner’s children played in the company parking lot. Now the Los Angeles Kings have joined a legion of friends and fans of the business to raise over $40,000 for Gardner, enabling him to move into a larger space where he can also retail his chocolates. Gardner had found a location at the corner of Torrance Boulevard and Anza but didn’t have the funds to remodel it. His newborn son needed expensive medical care. So he decided to try Kickstarter, the website that helps individuals fund worthy projects. The response was initially disappointing. But donations tripled after the November 27 Easy Reader story about Gardner’s plight. The article caught the attention of someone who had a particular reason to support a hockey fan: Los Angeles Kings CEO Kelly Cheeseman. “On Thanksgiving morning I was walking my dog and I picked up the paper and the story hit home,” Cheeseman said. “The hockey side of it and also I’m a new father, I…
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